In double base propellant systems comprising nitrocellulose and an energetic plasticizer such as nitroglycerin, stabilizers are employed to react with products resulting from degradation of the propellant to reduce formation of gases resulting from the gradual degradation of the propellant with time. In XLDB propellants, stabilizers commonly employed in double base propellants such as resorcinol have been found to react with isocyanate cross-linking agents employed to cross-link the nitrocellulose component of the propellants. As a result of this reaction, it is difficult to predict the amount of isocyanate cross-linking agent required to produce the desired physical properties of resorcinol stabilized XLDB propellant.
An improved stabilizer for XLDB propellant in which an isocyanate is the cross-linking agent, is N-methyl-p-nitroaniline (MNA). While this stabilizer does not interfere with the cross-linking reaction between isocyanate cross-linking agents and nitrocellulose, its solubility in the liquid components employed in preparation of the composition, such as the energetic plasticizer, limits the amount of this stabilizer which can be employed. If a stabilizer is employed in an XLDB propellant in an amount exceeding its solubility in the propellant matrix, it will crystallize from the matrix and adversely effect the physical properties of the resulting propellant. With low amounts of stabilizer in XLDB propellants, the service life of these propellants as evaluated during storage at temperature extremes of intended use are substantially reduced.